Washington DC September 2011

Our trip to DC is only a few short days away!!! How time sneaks up on you! We will be there from the 4th through the 10th of September.

So far:

We have spent money on fundraising and materials for prospectuses for those who are coming and those we have a meeting scheduled with.

Our meeting with the EPA is on the 7th of September. We will know the rest of our schedule, including the White House, next week. Michelle Obama kindly declined our invitation to meet, but we will be having a meeting with someone (or several) in the hopes that our message reaches more ears.

We have two flights taken care of. We have a house rented for the time to accommodate 4 people and anyone who is going to come for the day or stay overnight who lives closer-in. This house will be our "home base" and also allow us to keep costs down to cook if we choose to do so. It is a whopping 1700 square feet! The house is a smidge outside of DC proper, so it will require more money in cab fares to and from the airport as well as other transport, but since the house was less than getting a hotel that should more or less even out.

As many of you know, I suffer long-term chronic illness that limits my energy, so taking the metro isn't an option for me if I have to do anything the requires having energy at the other end. Thus, the additional cab fares and/or town car for the days we have important meetings. We also intend to use Zip Cars, which you can rent by the hour and pay a yearly fee for. There is a Zip Car pod around the corner from this house.

As part of the house agreement, they will hold $500 security deposit which is refunded after 48 hours of check out if there is no damage or theft. Since I anticipate we will all be adults and have a measure of goodwill, I anticipate getting that money fully returned. The hold means although they do not charge the credit card until 24 hours prior to check in and then place a hold on the funds, that it is $500 we cannot spend on the DC trip due to the hold. When it is returned it will go into Chitari's fund for educating people about toxins or be returned to the Timmy Tour Fund. I am not sure which as Chitari is the non-profit that is sponsoring us.

So far, that's where we are at. Right now, we are over $1000 short of what we need to raise. Plus, I did not update the extra $500 that gets put on hold. We also have BIG NEWS! We have confirmation of a documentary film maker who will be filming us in DC! We will have to pay him something to get the rights to use his footage elsewhere for other projects we intend to do down the line, so that also was not factored into the ChipIn amount. I hesitate to raise the amount needed as I worry we will not even hit the $3200 mark. If that happens, we will figure out the rest. One thing for sure. We are going. We have flights and a roof over our heads. Nothing will stop us from this Journey.

If you cannot help with donations of money, can you please share and bring awareness to others?

Also, we have started a new project in anticipation for DC. Timmy Stones! Learn more at http://www.TimmyStones.com Thank you to Mr. & Mrs. Rebecca for their sponsorship of this project and site and hosting.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Last year, Aundria Arlandson (the pet parent of Oliver D Cat who passed after his exposure to flea powder) and Claudia Tietze (Tiny Timmy's peep) traveled to Washington DC for three days. The plan was simple: To hold a vigil in front of the EPA building in DC on the anniversary of Oliver's death, to contact our representatives and do some ground level guerilla awareness raising.

We ended up, in 72 hours also scoring a meeting with Director's at the EPA's OPP (Office of Pesticide Products) which oversees flea and tick products. At almost the exact moment of Oliver's death we were sitting down with decision makers for what would be an hour and a half long meeting. Tamar Arslanian from IHaveCat.com joined us. We were able to secure this meeting because all of you emailed, called and faxed the EPA demanding it. Your voices were heard.

A lot has happened since that trip last year. We organized the T.O.Y. Army (Timmy, Oliver & You) - a dedicated team of volunteers who work tirelessly to affect change. Due to their hard work, we have connected with Dollar Tree Stores and now that they are educated about the propoxur collars (Bansect brand made by Sergeant's) Dollar Tree has stopped carrying them nationwide. (They will still sell through existing stock.) Your voices were heard.

One of the biggest changes as well is that the Chitari Foundation has taken Timmy Tour, including Washington DC, under it's wing and we now have non-profit status so any of your contributions will now be tax-deductible!!! You can learn more about Chitari at http://www.chitari.org

This year, we intend to go in September and stay for one week. Last year your generosity and support paid for one hotel room and two flights as well as a car to take us to our appointments and materials we used to educate other pet owners. This was through contributions, donations of air miles and donation of hotel points.

What we have planned:

Meeting with the EPA has been scheduled for September 7th, but we are trying to get in with Administrator Lisa Jackson - so we need for you to help blast the EPA again this year.

This year we have set our sights even higher: The White House. We are trying to get an appointment with Michelle Obama, We need for you to blast the White House as well.

Meetings with politicians.

Meetings with major big box retailers to educate them on the products they are selling and hopefully get them to voluntarily discontinue those products and offer more alternatives.

Possibly organizing a music event to raise awareness and raise money for Chitari to continue our educational work. (We may need to pay for one flight for a musician from Vermont to DC).

HISTORY:

We rescued Timmy two years ago in September. We were told he had a "muscle disorder". The truth is that he was suffering the toxic effects of flea and tick spray, leaving him with neurological damage. He is on a Healing Journey and continues to improve.

Oliver D Cat was a healthy young boy until treated with a minimal amount of flea powder. He went into Chronic Renal Failure and experiences tremors until he was given his wings in August.

Sadly, they are not alone. In 2008 alone over 44,000 cats and dogs suffered adverse reactions to these products, with 1600 ending in death. This number is only for spot-on/sqeeze-on/drops and does not cover the reactions to dips, collars, sprays, powders, foggers, room treatments, yard treatments and shampoos.

Not only do these products effect our pets and their long term health, but they effect the health of their owners, especially toddlers and children. There is no measurement of long term health concerns for animals, however one study showed that there was a whopping 60% increase in bladder cancer in dogs that were treated JUST ONCE per year.

To learn more, join Timmy's Facebook Page Tiny Timmy's Healing Journey and join the Official List of Toxins Killing Animals or visit Timmy's website http://www.tinytimmy.org

HELP us represent you.

This year we need to raise:
~ One round trip flight from Portland to DC for Timmy's Peep
~ One week of hotel stay - we are planning on two rooms as we have at least 4 other people coming, but will try to fit everyone into the most economical option - Due to the closeness of Sept 11th, hotels are filling up fast and higher rates are applying.
~ Town car rental for the times when we have important appointments (because we do not pay parking and a week's worth of car rental, it ends up being less expensive and more effective this way)
~ Printed materials for the meetings with retailers.
~ Something for Timmy's peep to wear to the White House (she is on disability and limited)
~ Guerilla Educational materials

We will cover our own cost of food and incidentals.

Anything helps - even if it is only a few dollars.